Unveiling Feminist Resistance. Affect, Gender, and Rebellion in "The Yellow Wallpaper"
Victoria Giambra
Geisteswissenschaften, Kunst, Musik / Englische Sprachwissenschaft / Literaturwissenschaft
Beschreibung
Seminar paper from the year 2024 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,0 (Maximum), University of Hannover, language: English, abstract: In this term Paper, I argue that Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s "The Yellow Wallpaper" transcends a simple narrative of madness, instead serving as a powerful feminist critique of patriarchal control and societal oppression. Employing a multidisciplinary approach, I integrate affect theory and feminist literary analysis to uncover how the protagonist’s emotional descent becomes a subversive act of defiance. Drawing on Spinoza’s concept of affect as “the power to affect and be affected” and Massumi’s interpretation of pre-personal intensities, I demonstrate that the protagonist’s affective journey challenges the gender norms and medical authority imposed by her husband, a physician embodying patriarchal control. My research method combines close textual analysis with theoretical frameworks from scholars such as Brian Massumi, Gilles Deleuze, and Sara Ahmed. This theoretical lens allows for a nuanced examination of affective experiences in literature, particularly the protagonist’s complex emotional reactions to her environment and interactions with male figures. Historical contextualization of 19th-century gender roles and societal expectations, grounded in the works of Regina Markell Morantz and Catherine Golden, provides crucial insights into the pressures women faced as custodians of domestic and family health. The analysis delves into key elements such as the symbolic act of peeling the wallpaper, which emerges as an embodied and affective rebellion against societal imprisonment. Rather than a descent into madness, this act signifies the protagonist’s journey toward self-awareness and liberation.
Kundenbewertungen
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Gender, 19th Century, Feminism, Affect Studies, Sarah Ahmed, The Yellow Wallpaper, Affect Theory, Massumi, Spinoza